Idaho Parks and Recreation has asked the U.S. Department of Defense’s Innovative Readiness Training program and the Idaho Army Reserve National Guard to help fix backcountry roads and fly construction lumber into a remote trail site, according to the public notice posted Sept. 19. The agency says it will supply materials only, leaving labor and heavy equipment to military units that use such work as real-world training.
The Defense Department initiative pairs units with community projects that sharpen engineering, aviation and logistics skills while providing training-driven assistance at no monetary cost to IDPR beyond supplying materials, generating significant community cost savings. Details on eligibility and mission requirements are available from the Defense Department.
The first request covers 11.8 miles of gravel and dirt roads that lead to the Idaho City Backcountry Yurts in Boise National Forest. Crews would repair erosion, reshape drainage and restore surfacing on five segments: Banner Creek Road (about two miles), North Fork Beaver Summit Road and its spur (1.9 miles), China Fork–West Fork Road (4.2 miles), Lamar Creek Road (1.3 miles) and the 362F spur (2.4 miles). The goal is year-round access for guests who hike, bike, ski or snowshoe to the eight reservable yurts.
Operators facing similar maintenance challenges can borrow several proven tactics. Designing roads for drainage first—crowning surfaces and adding water bars—prevents washboarding before it starts. Well-graded, angular aggregate locks together tighter than rounded gravel, and a quick blade-and-pack pass after spring thaw keeps the running surface tight. In chronic mud holes, geotextile fabric under fresh rock stops clay from pumping upward and cuts repeat grading.
The second IDPR request seeks a National Guard helicopter to sling-load roughly 3,000 pounds of dimensional lumber to Phoebe Meadow Trail 291 in the Payette National Forest’s Krassel Ranger District. The lumber package would restart a stalled bridge that volunteers and the U.S. Forest Service began building to protect sensitive riparian habitat and reopen a key link for backpackers and stock users.
Prefitting bridge components off-site can slash in-field labor and disturbance, and maintaining a cloud-based photo log of each inspection or culvert clean-out supports future capital requests and insurance claims.
Comments, questions or objections to military participation are due by Sept. 30; late filings will be treated as waived, the notice states. IDPR lists Hailey Husband at 208-514-2419 for the road work and Alex Ernst at 208-514-2415 for the bridge airlift.
Public-benefit operators who want similar assistance should keep shovel-ready plans—drawings, permits and materials—in a single folder so they can match a Guard unit’s training window. Framing requests around military skill sets, providing clear site logistics, assigning one on-site liaison and budgeting for finishing touches such as signage and reseeding can turn free labor into a polished amenity. A community ribbon-cutting that highlights the troops’ work further rewards everyone involved.
The filing notes that IDPR has used the program before: engineers rebuilt campground amenities at Henrys Lake State Park in 2022 and overhauled trail switchbacks at Castle Rocks State Park in 2023. The current proposal faces a fall review; if approved, engineering surveys and flight-safety planning would begin, with field work possible as early as spring or summer 2026, the same filing says.
IDPR projects that road upgrades would lower annual maintenance costs for both IDPR and Boise National Forest crews while the proposal states the finished bridge would eliminate a stream fording that stirs sediment and threatens fish habitat. The proposal also notes sustained, four-season access could bring a tourism bump to the Idaho City and McCall economies.
IDPR estimates it will spend about $180,000 on road base, culverts and geotextile fabric and another $22,000 on bridge lumber, funds covered by recreation-registration revenue and a Forest Service stewardship grant. Because military labor and equipment are provided at no cost to IDPR other than materials, the agency can stretch its capital dollars further than by contracting the same work.
If the Guard signs off, bulldozers and helicopters could be working in Idaho’s backcountry next season, giving park owners and private concessionaires across the country a fresh case study in turning military readiness into guest-ready infrastructure.